Lincoln University’s first Dame continues tradition of firsts

Lincoln University congratulates former staff member Emeritus Professor Alison Stewart CNZM on her appointment as a Dame Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit in the 2025 King’s Birthday Honours List, for services to plant science and the arable sector.

She becomes the Lincoln University family’s first academic Dame.

‘Firsts’ have been a feature of her professional life.

Dr Stewart joined the staff at Lincoln in 1994 as an Associate Professor of Plant Pathology and was at that stage the highest ranked female academic on the university’s staff. Promotion to a Personal Chair in Plant Pathology followed in 1999, making her Lincoln’s first female Professor. At that stage she headed the university’s Microbial and Plant Science Group.

In 2003 Professor Stewart became the first Director of the newly established National Centre for Advanced Bio-Protection Technologies, at that point the first and only South Island Centre of Research Excellence (CORE).

In 2011 Professor Stewart was appointed Lincoln University’s inaugural Distinguished Professor of Plant Pathology, signifying outstanding service and achievement in the role of professor.

Scottish-born, Alison holds a BSc (Hons) from the University of Glasgow and a PhD from the University of Stirling. As a working plant pathologist her specialist area was the ecology and control of fungal diseases of economically important vegetable crops.

At Lincoln University, Professor Stewart and her team carried out prize-winning research on the use of beneficial fungi such as Trichderma as the basis for non-chemical plant protection agents.

In dealing with soil-borne pathogens, Professor Stewart was always particularly interested in developing non-chemical methods of control  - the biological and cultural approaches of integrated disease management.

This made her ideally suited to the appointment as foundation Director of the Lincoln University-based National Centre for Advanced Bio-Protection Technologies, which was officially opened by Prime Minister Helen Clark.

While at Lincoln University, Professor Stewart was made a Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit in 2009 for her contributions to biology and plant pathology.

She left Lincoln in 2013 and took up a post as Chief Science Officer with Marron Bio Innovations in California, USA. She returned to New Zealand in 2015 and since 2018 has been Chief Executive of the Foundation for Arable Research (FAR).

Today at Lincoln University, the ground-breaking Government mandate of 2002 to provide research leadership in biosecurity, biocontrol, and agribiotechnology and Matauranga Māori bio-protection, has new shape, form and tasks in the existence of the Centre for One Biosecurity Research, Analysis and Synthesis (COBRAS) and the Tertiary Education Commission-funded Centre of Research Excellence: Bioprotection Aotearoa.